Bilge pump



June 29, 1965 R. ADAMS 3,191,538

BILGE PUMP Filed Nov. 5, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

RUSSE L L ADAMS.

A TTORNE).

R. ADAMS BILGE PUMP June 29, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1961RUSSELL ADAMS l 1 l a l v WZW ATTORNEY R. ADAMS June 29, 1965 BILGE PUMP4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 5, 1961 INVENTOR. RUSSELL ADAMS.- BY f4V .fl

ATTORNEY R. ADAMS BILGE PUMP June'29, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed NOV. 5l 1961 A T TORNE )f United States Patent 3,191,538 BILGE PUMP RussellAdams, Somers Point, NJ. Filed Nov. 3, 1961, Ser. No. 149,907 1 Claim.'(Cl. 103-70) The present invention relates to certain and useful bilgepump, for use in automatically pumping out the bilge of a boat while theboat is in dock or anchored or adrift.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic bilge pumpwhich is not dependent on a powersource to operate it, but which will beoperated by the motion of the anchored boat in relation to the water inwhich the boat floats. s

A further object of the present invention is to make the bilge pumpindependent of any mooring ropes or guides and to minimize the extent towhich the bilge pump extends outwardly beyond the boat, so that it doesnot get in the way of the dock or the dock pilings or other boatsentering or leaving an adjoining dock or slip.

With the above objects in View the present embodiment of the inventioncomprises cylinder-supporting and rodguiding bracket adapted to bedetachably secured to the stern of the boat by one or several C-clamps,a generally upright cylinder carried by said support and having itsupper end open to the atmosphere and having an intake at its lower endfrom which a hose extends over the top of the stern of the boat anddownward into the bilge and having an inwardly-opening check-valve atits bilgeend, a piston in said cylinder having a water-passagewaytherethrough and check-valve associated therewith, a piston-rodextending upwardly from the piston and through the upper open end of thecylinder, a rod-yoke secured to the upper end of the piston-rod and apair'of piston: actuating float-rods extending downwardly from saidrodyoke on either side of the piston-rod and generally parallel theretoand equidistant therefrom and having their upper ends secured to saidyoke and guidingly extending through said cylinder-support or otherwiseguided thereby for up and down motion parallel with the axis of thecylinder, and a float secured to the lower ends of said float-rods,whereby any rise and fall of the stern of the boat in relation to thewater in which it is floated, will cause the float to fall and risecorrespondingly and thus cause the piston to be alternately lowered andraised within the cylinder thereby drawing water from the bilge throughthe aforementioned intake check valve at the end of the bilge hose onthe upstroke of the piston and discharging it through the check valve inthe piston on the downstroke thereof, and also dumping the so-pumpedwater out through the upper open end of the cylinder on the upstroke ofthe piston.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate likeparts,

FIGURE 1 represents a perspective view of a bilge pump exemplifying anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 represents a side elevational view of the same.

FIGURE 3 represents a vertical cross-sectional view of the same on line3-3 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 represents a cross-sectional view on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 represents a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view of thecylinder and piston of the pump and of the valve therein, shown in itsopen position as on the downstroke of the piston-rod.

FIGURE 6 represents a bottom view of the movable valve-disc at thebottom of the piston.

FIGURE 7 represents a cross sectional view of an intake valve at thebilge end of the pump-hose.

3,191,538 Patented June 29, 1965 ice FIGURE 8 represents a bottom planview of the intake valve shown in FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 represents a vertical cross-sectional view of the stern end ofa boat with the bilge pump of the present invention operatively appliedthereto.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the cylindersupporting and rod guiding means may comprise one or several shelf-likeor bracket-like supports 1 extending from a suitably inclined mountingplate 2, which may be permanently secured to the stern 3 of the boat, ormay be secured thereto by One or several C-type clamps 4 at the top ofthe mounting plate 2, embracing the upper marginal portion of the stern3 and is secured thereto by a clamping screw 5.

Within vertically aligned cylinder-receiving openings 6 and 7 in theshelf-like members 1, a cylinder 8 is mounted and secured. The upper endof the cylinder 8 is open. To the lower end of the cylinder 8 aninlet-cap or closure 9 is secured in sealed relation to the lower end ofthe cylinder, having a hose-receiving nipple or fitting 10, to which asuitable hose 11 is secured. The hose 11 extends over the top of thestern 3 and has an inlet valve housing 12 at its intake end. The freeend of the housing 12 is provided with a perforated cap 13 to the innerface of which the valve-disc 14 is movably secured by the pin or rivet15. The valve-disc 14 may be a flexible rubber disc which will lie flatagainst the inner face of the cap 13 and overlap the perforationstherein so as to close them off against the exit of water when thepressure is from within, but to be unseated by being flexed away fromthe inner face of the cap 13 when the pressure inside the inlet housing12 is slightly less than atmospheric, thereby permitting the ingress ofwater from the bilge into the inlet-valve housing 12.

A cup-like piston 16 (made of rubber or the like) is mounted within thepiston 8, and a piston-rod 17, having its upper end secured to the yoke18, has its lower end extending through a water-passageway 19 in thepiston 16 and has riveted or otherwise secured thereto a metallicvalve-disc 20 and also a multi-pronged piston-connector 21, as shown inFIGURES 3 to 6. The valve-disc 20 is scalloped or has an otherwisenotched or recessed pe riphery, so that water may flow freely past theouter periphery thereof. The central portion of the valve disc 20 coversthe water-passageway 19 when it is raised upwardly by the upward motionof the piston-rod 17, thereby to close said water-passageway in thepiston.

The piston-connector 21 may be in the form of a disc having three prongsextending upwardly therefrom through the water-passageway 19 of thepiston, with their upper ends 22 bent outwardly to overlap the bottom ofthe cup-like piston 16 near the periphery of the waterpassageway 19therethrough, so that as the piston-rod 17 moves downwardly (asindicated in FIGURE 5), and the valve-disc 20 separates from the bottomof the piston 16, the piston-connector 21 will pull the piston 16downwardly, in spaced relation to the valve-disc 20, as indicated inFIGURE 5.

A pair of float-rods 23 having their upper ends secured to the rod-yoke18, extended downwardly on either side of the cylinder 8 parallel to theaxis thereof and equidistant therefrom, and extend through rod-guidingholes 24 and 25 in the shelf-like members 1.

A float 26 is secured to the lower ends of the float-rods 23. The floatmay be sealed in a hollow vessel, but is preferably a piece oflightweight cellular plastic material which will not absorb water andwhose water-displacement is several times its own weight, as, forinstance. styrene foam.

As the boat rides at anchor or tied to a pier or adrift, any slight upand down motion of the stern of the boat in relation to the water inwhich the boat is floating, will cause the float 26 and piston-rod 17 tomove down and up in relation to the cylinder 8 and hence will cause thepiston 16 and valve-disc also to move correspondingly. As the stern ofthe boat rises slightly in the water, the piston-rod 17 will movedownwardly in relation to the cylinder 8 and will first cause thevalve-disc 20 to be unseated from the piston 16 and will then move thepiston 16 downwardly. During this downward motion the intake valve-disc14 (FIGURE 3) remains seated or in its closing position and water in thecylinder 8 passes upwardly through the passageway 19 of the piston 16.

When the stern of the boat moves downwardly in relation to the water,the piston-rod 17 moves upwardly in relation to the cylinder 8 and firstmoves the valve-disc 20 against the bottom of the piston 16, therebyclosing off the water-passageway 19, and then moves the piston 16upwardly of the cylinder 8 so as to raise the water above the piston andto discharge the topmost portion of the water column (above the piston)over the upper open end of the cylinder 8 and at the same time drawingin some more water from the bilge of the boat past the intake valve disc14 which is unseated by the upward motion of the piston 16 in relationto the cylinder 8.

The bilge-pump of the present invention will keep the bilge pumped outwhile the boat is at anchor or at a dock. By the construction of thebilge pump of the present invention, the total extension of the bilgepump outwardly of the boat can be kept at a minimum so as to minimizeits etfect as an obstruction to other vessels, 'pier-pilings or dock,and the bilge pump of the present invention is free and clear of allmooring lines, so that it can be used under all conditions under which aboat may be tied to a dock 'or tied to a float or submerged anchor orfreely drifting.

Moreover, the bilge pump of the present invention does not require anyattention whatsoever either to put it into operation or otherwise.

Having described the invention, the following is claimed:

A bilge-pump including cylinder-supporting and rodguiding means forattachment to the stern of a boat, a cylinder supported by theaforementioned means in a generally upright position and stationarilywith respect to said means, said cylinder having its upper end open tothe atmosphere and having an intake closure at its lower end, a hosehaving one end operatively connected with said intake closure andcommunicating with the cylinder and its other end portion adapted toextend over the top of the stern of the boat anddown into the bilgethereof, an inlet housing at the terminal of said other end portion ofsaid hose, an inwardly opening checkvalve in said inlet housing, apiston operatively disposed within said cylinder and havingwater-valving means therein for passing water past said piston on thedownstroke thereof and barring passage of Water past said piston on theup-stroke thereof, a piston-rod con nected with said piston andextending upwardly therefrom substantially beyond the upper end of thecylinder, a rod-yoke secured to the upper end of said piston-rod, a pairof float-rods guided by the aforementioned rodguiding means on eitherside of said cylinder and parallel to the axis thereof for up and downmotion with respect to said cylinder-supporting and rod-guiding means,said t float-rods having their upper ends secured to said yoke,

and a buoyant float secured to the lower ends of said float-rods.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 961,401 6/10Bonney l03-68 1,594,050 7/26 Connor 103-70 1,763,191 6/30 Sealy et a1.10370 FOREIGN PATENTS 566,691 1/45 Great Britain.

801,263 9/58 Great Britain.

JOSEPH H. BRANSON, 111., Primary Examiner. LAURENCE V. EFNER, Examiner.

